If you’re a keen young poet looking for some pointers to help develop your writing, we have a whole range of resources to help you out.

Advice from former winners

Four former winners of the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award have some words of encouragement and advice. Take a look at the top tips from Nadia Lines, Mukahang Limbu, Cia Mangat, and Andrew Pettigrew.

You can also check out these brilliant advice pieces to point you in the right direction:

• Five-time Foyle Young Poet of the Year Helen Mort explores creating a poem about the things unsaid.
• Now sure where to start editing? Twice Foyle Young Poet of the Year Holly Hopkins takes you through the whole process, using examples from her own notebook.

Advice from poets

The judges of the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award 2021, Clare Pollard and Yomi Ṣode, have created a video explaining what they’ll be looking for when they read this year’s entries.

And for more general guidance about how to approach writing a poem, the judges of the Foyle Young Poets of the Year Award 2020, Maura Dooley and Keith Jarrett, and one of our Foyle Patrons, Matt Abbott sat down to answer some of your questions about writing, reading, editing, and finding your voice. Check out the video below.

 

Further Resources

• For inspiration, you can read past Foyle Young Poets anthologies online, or email us at [email protected] to receive a print copy of the most recent winners’ anthology.
• You can also watch a playlist of lots of the 2020 winners.
• Try some writing prompts from The Poetry School.
• For lots more resources, features and challenges, go to Young Poets Network.